news

BLOG: 3 New Year’s resolutions for build to rent, by Neil Young CEO

Resolutions made in January are often met with scepticism, but I’m a firm believer in starting the year with some clear goals.

So, when asked to think about my hopes and goals for this year, I set myself and Get Living three challenges:

1. Get bigger

Growing well will be a major focus for 2019. This year we’re set to deliver double-digit growth in operational homes in 2019, so you’ll be seeing a lot more of us across the UK.

Building on the great foundations of our first five years, we’re bringing new people and talent into our team, while continuing to invest in our processes and refine the way we do things.

My hope for 2019 is that it brings more stability than is currently expected. With ambitions to deliver 12,500 homes for rent over the next five years, much of our pipeline will be under construction this year. The quicker we can build, the sooner we can get people living in our neighbourhoods to establish new communities, bring social value and of course, much needed homes.

2. Get simpler

Beyond growing well, our focus for 2019 is simplicity.

We’ve already made things simpler for our residents by scrapping deposits and streamlining the referencing process into a matter of minutes. So next we’ll be looking at what else we can do to make renting hassle-free and life in the home easier.

We’re very excited about the innovation coming to the market and have some game changers in the works, so watch this space.

3. Get known

As a new sector we still have a way to go before all UK renters know what we’re about.

As more build to rent homes comes to market it is our hope that people will learn what makes us different from buy-to-let landlords. We’ve got a great story to tell which goes beyond our individual propositions – our no fees, no deposits and longer tenancies offering – to how we engage with communities, the benefits on wellbeing and our wider social value. The big picture stuff!

I look forward to working with our industry peers to raise the profile of the sector, while continuing to champion a simpler, fairer and better way of renting.

Here’s to another great year for build to rent and a better experience for renters.